Method and system for monitoring air pressure in a telecommunications network

ABSTRACT

A system for monitoring air pressure in a telecommunications network comprises a plurality of monitoring units, at least one device server, a computer network, and a terminal. Each monitoring unit is connected to a device server. A user at the terminal receives air pressure data from the monitoring units over the computer network.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of commonly owned U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/989,329, entitled “Method And System ForMonitoring Air Pressure In A Telecommunications Network,” filed Nov. 20,2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,737,976, of which is incorporated herein byreference.

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT PROTECTION

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document and its figurescontain material subject to copyright protection. The copyright ownerhas no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patentdocument or the patent disclosure, but otherwise reserves all copyrightswhatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods and systems for monitoring airpressure in a telecommunications network

BACKGROUND

Telecommunications companies strive to keep their underground cables ingood working order. One of the biggest threats to underground telephonecables is moisture. The conductors in the cables are insulated, usuallywith a pulp insulation or plastic.

The integrity of the protective cable sheath is compromised when cracksdevelop. Cracks allow water to enter and electrolysis to occur, whichcan result in faulted conductor pairs. The characteristics of the cablecan change. For example, the noise on the line may increase or there maybe cable failure.

With underground cable, the cable is susceptible to water damage due togroundwater or storm water. If there is a crack in the cable, water willpermeate and cause conductor damage unless there is a positive pressurewithin the cable that exceeds and counters the force of the water.

Telephone companies have utilized air pressure systems to put air intotheir cables. When a crack develops in the cable, the air pressureinside the cable prevents water or moisture from entering the cable. Airpressure systems may include compressors and dryers, with compressorssupplying the air and the dryers removing the residual moisture. Airpipes follow the cable route and introduce pressure at various fixedpoints along the cable route. The air pipes are connected to manifolds,which distribute air to the cables.

With these air pressure systems, telephone companies want to insureadequate air pressure throughout the system and want to detect leaks inthe system. Thus, it is very important to measure the air deliverypressure at various locations within the air pressure system.

Air pressure monitoring units, such as Sparton air pressure monitoringsystems commercially available from Sparton Technology, Inc., areavailable to take air pressure readings. In the past, the air pressurereadings from monitoring units have been accessible by computersutilizing dial-up modems. However, accessing the monitoring units usingdial-up modems has proven slow and forced reliance on outmoded printersand network technology. For example, the maximum connection speed insome cases has been 2400 bytes per second (bps). Due to the slowconnection, the monitoring systems have typically only been polled oncea day to obtain status reports.

In the past, technicians would print a status report on paper in themorning before going into the field for the day. If the technicians werein the field and needed an updated status report, they would sometimesleave a work site to return to their office and print out a paperreport. In some instances, the technicians may have called someone inthe office to print and read the report to them.

For example, a technician may be in the field performing work on a pieceof equipment connected to the air pressure system. Examples of equipmentthat technician might repair in the field include an air pipe, acompressor, a manifold, a transducer, a cable splice closure, air tubes,carrier cases feeding out of cable, transducer housings, fittings forair pipes and air tubes, load coils, check valves, pressure plugs(external and internal), pressure valves, flanges placed on cables,cutoff valves, underground terminals, pressure regulators, or the cableitself. If the technician is adjusting the equipment, the technician mayneed “real time” pressure readings on the equipment. Under currentsystems, the technician must call someone in an office or technicalcenter to obtain the data. The office receives real time pressure datafrom the monitoring unit. A person in the office then reads the realtime pressure data to the technician in the field. Thus, under currentsystems, two people are required to adjust the equipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides methods and systems for monitoring airpressure in a telecommunications network. An embodiment of a system formonitoring air pressure in a telecommunications network may comprise adevice server. The device server receives air pressure data from an airpressure monitoring unit and delivers the air pressure data to aterminal.

In one embodiment, the air pressure data are delivered to the terminalover a computer network, such as a local area network, an intranet, orthe internet. Examples of terminals include, for example, personalcomputers, laptop computers, personal digital assistants, cellulartelephones, and wireless communication devices.

In other embodiments, a system of the present invention comprises aplurality of monitoring units, a plurality of device servers, a computernetwork, and a terminal. Each monitoring unit is connected to a deviceserver. A user at the terminal is able to receive air pressure data fromthe monitoring units over the computer network. In some embodiments,each monitoring unit is connected to a different device server. In otherembodiments, some monitoring units will have dedicated device servers(i.e., only one monitoring unit per device server) and some monitoringunits might share a multi-port device server. In other embodiments,multiple monitoring units may be connected to a single device server.

In one embodiment, the monitoring units measure air pressure intelephone cables. Each monitoring unit may comprise two ports, with afirst port connecting the monitoring unit to the computer network and asecond port allowing a remote terminal to access the monitoring unitdirectly (e.g., using a modem). Each monitoring unit may have a uniqueinternet protocol address associated with it to enable a user at aremote terminal to connect to the computer network and receive airpressure data from that particular monitoring unit. In one embodiment,the device server is a multiprotocol, micro serial server that providesEthernet connections to connect the monitoring unit to the computernetwork. Examples of terminals include, for example, personal computers,laptop computers, personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, andwireless communication devices.

The present invention also relates to methods for monitoring airpressure in a telecommunications network. In one embodiment, a method ofthe present invention comprises measuring air pressure in thetelecommunications network, accessing a computer network, selecting amonitoring unit from a plurality of air pressure monitoring units,connecting with a device server, and receiving air pressure data fromthe monitoring unit. In a further embodiment, the air pressure data areprinted.

The air pressure monitoring units measure air pressure in telephonecables. In one embodiment, each monitoring unit has a unique internetprotocol address associated with it. The computer network may beaccessed by connecting to the computer network using, for example,personal computers, laptop computers, personal digital assistants,cellular telephones, and wireless communication devices. In oneembodiment, a user may wirelessly connect to the network using a laptopcomputer.

By using systems and methods of the present invention, the retrievalrate of air pressure data is significantly increased. For example, byusing systems of the present invention, technicians can connect to themonitoring units and receive the data at rates of 9600 bps or higher (ascompared to 2400 bps using modem connections).

It is a feature and advantage of the present invention to providesystems and methods for monitoring air pressure in a telecommunicationsnetwork with an increased polling speed over convention methods andsystems.

Another feature and advantage of the present invention is to providesystems and methods for monitoring air pressure in a telecommunicationsnetwork that can poll more frequently due to higher polling speeds.

A further feature and advantage of the present invention is to providesystems and methods for monitoring air pressure in a telecommunicationsnetwork that allow the retrieval and printing of air pressure data fromremote locations. A still further feature and advantage of the presentinvention is to provide systems and methods for monitoring air pressurein a telecommunications network that allow the printing of statusreports to any printer attached to a terminal connected to a company'sintranet.

The systems and methods of the present invention also may advantageouslyprovide increased flexibility to technicians in the field. Anotherfeature and advantage of the present invention is to provide systems andmethods for monitoring air pressure in a telecommunications network thatallow technicians to access data in real time from the field. A furtherfeature and advantage of the present invention is to provide systems andmethods for monitoring air pressure in a telecommunications network thatallow access to air pressure monitoring units by laptop computers forreal time information from the field.

A still further feature and advantage of the present invention is toprovide systems and methods for monitoring air pressure in atelecommunications network that enable technicians to retrieve real timeinformation without the assistance of another person in a centralizedlocation.

The systems and methods of the present invention advantageously reducethe amount of time that it takes for technicians to receive monitoringunit data. The systems and methods of the present invention alsoadvantageously increase the efficiency of technicians in the field.

Additional uses, objects, advantages, and novel features of theinvention are set forth in the detailed description that follows andwill become more apparent to those skilled in the art upon examinationof the following or by practice of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other embodiments, objects, uses, advantages, and novelfeatures of this invention are more clearly understood by reference tothe following description taken in connection with the accompanyingfigures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustrating an air pressure system in which thesystems and methods of the present invention may be implemented;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustrating an embodiment of a system of thepresent invention for monitoring air pressure in a telecommunicationsnetwork;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustrating another embodiment of a system of thepresent invention for monitoring air pressure in a telecommunicationsnetwork; and

FIG. 4 is a flow chart flowchart illustrating an exemplary method ofmonitoring air pressure in a telecommunications network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the figures, FIG. 1 is a schematic illustrating an airpressure system in which the systems and methods of the presentinvention may be implemented. As noted above, telephone companiesutilize air pressure systems to put air into their cables. In FIG. 1, anair pipe 5 follows a cable 10 underground. The air in the air pipe 5 isgenerated by a compressor 15. Although not shown in FIG. 1, dryers maybe used to remove residual moisture from the air generated. The air pipe5 is connected to manifolds 20, which distribute air to the cable 10.

Transducers 25 are positioned along the air pipe 5 to measure airpressure. Data relating to the air pressure are sent to a monitoringunit 30. The monitoring unit 30, as shown in FIG. 1, is located at awire center 35. Embodiments of the present invention may be implementedin systems, such as the one shown in FIG. 1, to retrieve air pressuredata from monitoring units.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustrating an embodiment of a system of thepresent invention for monitoring air pressure in a telecommunicationsnetwork. In FIG. 2, a device server 75 connects an air pressuremonitoring unit 80 to a computer network 85. In FIG. 2, the computernetwork 85 may be an intranet, a local area network, or the internet.The device server 75 receives air pressure data from the air pressuremonitoring unit 80 and delivers the air pressure data to the computernetwork 85.

Terminals may retrieve the air pressure data by accessing the computernetwork 85. Examples of terminals include, for example, personalcomputers, laptop computers, personal digital assistants, cellulartelephones, and wireless communication devices. In FIG. 2, the terminalshown is a personal computer 90. The personal computer 90 is incommunication with the computer network 85. The air pressure data may bedelivered to the personal computer 90 and printed on a printer 95attached to the personal computer 85 or to a network printer.

To illustrate the operation of a system, such as that shown in FIG. 2, atechnician or user may be interested in checking a particular cable forleaks by reviewing air pressure data from various monitoring units. Thetechnician accesses the network 85 from his personal computer 90 andselects the air pressure monitoring units that he wishes to study. Theselected monitoring units deliver air pressure data to the personalcomputer 90 over the network 85. The technician may print the airpressure data on the attached printer 95.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustrating another embodiment of a system of thepresent invention for monitoring air pressure in a telecommunicationsnetwork using a mobile communication device. In FIG. 3, a device server150 connects an air pressure monitoring unit 155 to a corporate intranet160. The device server 150 receives air pressure data from the airpressure monitoring unit 155 and delivers the air pressure data to theintranet 160.

A wireless communication device 165 (e.g., a laptop, a mobile telephone,or a personal digital assistant) may retrieve the air pressure data bywirelessly accessing the intranet 160. The wireless communication device165 may connect to and access the intranet 160 using conventionalwireless communication systems, which may include, for example,communications towers, mobile telephone switching offices, and/or an802.11(a or b) wireless LAN. For example, a laptop may wirelessly accessand connect to the intranet using the Cingular Interactive IntelligentWireless Network, which also other wireless devices, including personaldigital assistants, interactive pager systems, etc.

A technician working near a particular monitoring unit 155 may connectto the intranet 160 and receive the air pressure data from thatmonitoring unit 155 or from any other monitoring unit in thetelecommunications system. When the technician selects a particular airpressure monitoring unit 155, the air pressure data is delivered to thewireless communication device 165 over the intranet 160. The technicianmay advantageously receive real-time air pressure data associated withparticular monitoring units.

A network printer 170 is also connected to the intranet 160. Thetechnician may wish to print a hard copy of the air pressure data to thenetwork printer 170 for record-keeping purposes.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart flowchart illustrating an exemplary method ofmonitoring air pressure in a telecommunications network. In theembodiment illustrated, a local area network is accessed 200 by apersonal computer. An air pressure monitoring unit 205 is selected froma plurality of monitoring units. The personal computer connects 210 witha device server through the local area network. Air pressure data arereceived 215 from the monitoring unit via the device server and areprinted 220.

Examples of air pressure monitoring units useful in the presentinvention include Sparton monitoring units, Chatlos monitoring units,and Hercules monitoring units. Each wire center having pressurized cablein the telecommunications system may have an air pressure monitoringunit. Each monitoring unit preferably has at least two ports. One portis preferably dedicated to the local area network or intranet. The airpressure monitoring unit is connected to a device server through thisport. The air pressure data is delivered to the local area network orintranet from the air pressure monitoring unit through the deviceserver.

In this embodiment, each monitoring unit is assigned an internetprotocol (IP) address. With an IP address assigned to each monitoringunit, a user may request air pressure data for specific monitoring unitsusing the IP address. Each monitoring unit also has its own deviceserver in this embodiment.

In other embodiments, multiple monitoring units may be connected to asingle, multi-port device server. For example, if a wire center has morethan one monitoring unit, then a single device server may be used. Inthis embodiment, each monitoring unit is still addressed as a separateunit using its own IP address.

Each monitoring unit may have an assigned telephone number. A secondport may therefore be dedicated to dial-up connections. In other words,a user at a remote terminal (e.g., a laptop computer) may directlyaccess the monitoring unit to retrieve the air pressure data, ratherthan requesting the data using the intranet or local area network.

The device server may be a multiprotocol, micro serial server. Thedevice server may provide Ethernet connections to connect the airpressure monitoring units to the network. Examples of device serversuseful in the present invention include Lantronix Model No. MSS1 deviceservers commercially available from Lantronix, Inc., Model IOLAN+102/104serial servers commercially available from Perle Systems Limited, andother multiprotocol, micro serial servers that provide Ethernetconnections for personal computers, terminals, modems, and devices thatwould not otherwise be connected to a network.

As noted above, the network may be a local area network, an intranet, orthe internet. In addition to a personal computer, examples of otherterminals that may connect to the network include, for example, laptopcomputers, personal digital assistants, cellular telephones, andwireless communication devices. Wireless connections to a corporateintranet are advantageous because they enable technicians working in thefield to retrieve air pressure data at the work site. For example, atechnician working on a compressor may wirelessly connect to theintranet with a laptop computer to determine if the adjustments had theintended effect on the air pressure. Further, technicians may obtainreal-time data in the field whereas in the past, the technicians neededto call into an office and have another person read the data to them.

The technicians can dialup using a secure dialup system and secureidentification and connect to the monitoring units. The technicians maybe given dialup access cards. By obtaining the air pressure data througha connection with the network, the technicians can connect to anymonitoring unit. In the past, if a technician was connected to aparticular air pressure monitoring unit and wanted to connect to anothermonitoring unit, the technician would have to disconnect from the firstmonitoring unit and dial the telephone number associated with the secondmonitoring unit.

The air pressure data may be printed on any number of printers, such asnetwork printers and printers connected to a terminal connected to thenetwork. Thus, the data may be printed at any number of locations andnot just from a central computer where the data were typically received.

An embodiment of the invention includes a computer-readable medium,having computer-readable instructions for accessing a computer network,for selecting an air pressure monitoring unit from a plurality of airpressure monitoring units, and for receiving air pressure data from thecomputer network. The computer network may be, for example, a local areanetwork, an intranet, or the internet.

Another embodiment of the present invention includes a computer-readablemedium having computer readable instructions for selecting an airpressure monitoring unit from a plurality of air pressure monitoringunits, for receiving air pressure data from the selected air pressuremonitoring units, and for delivering the air pressure data to aterminal. The terminal may be, for example, a personal computer, alaptop computer, a personal digital assistant, and/or a wirelesscommunication device.

Various embodiments of the invention have been described in fulfillmentof the various objects of the invention. It should be recognized thatthese embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles of thepresent invention. Numerous modifications and adaptations thereof willbe readily apparent to those skilled in the art without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present invention.

1. A system for monitoring air pressure in a telecommunications network,comprising: a device server in communication with a terminal, the deviceserver receiving a request from the terminal to select a monitoring unitto retrieve real-time air pressure data associated with the selectedmonitoring unit and, in response to the request, the device serverretrieving the real-time air pressure data from the selected monitoringunit and communicating the real-time air pressure data to the terminal.2. The system of claim 1, the device server further communicating thereal-time air pressure data from a selected monitoring unit to at leastone other terminal.
 3. The system of claim 1, the device servercomprising at least one of a multiprotocol server and a multi-portdevice server.
 4. The system of claim 1, the device server communicatingthe real-time air pressure data from the selected monitoring unit to theterminal via a computer network.
 5. The system of claim 1, the deviceserver further communicating the real-time air pressure data from atleast two selected monitoring units to the terminal.
 6. A system formonitoring air pressure in a telecommunications network, comprising: aplurality of monitoring units; a plurality of device servers; a computernetwork, the plurality of device servers communicating with the computernetwork; and a terminal in communication with at least one of theplurality of device servers, the terminal communicating a signal toselect a monitoring unit from the plurality of monitoring units toretrieve real-time air pressure data associated with the selectedmonitoring unit, wherein each of the plurality of monitoring unitscommunicates with at least one of the device servers, and wherein theterminal receives the real-time air pressure data over the computernetwork.
 7. The system of claim 6, the plurality of monitoring unitsmeasuring air pressure in telephone cables.
 8. The system of claim 6,wherein each of the plurality of monitoring unit comprises a first portconnecting the monitoring unit to the computer network and a second portallowing a remote terminal to access the monitoring unit.
 9. The systemof claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of monitoring units has aunique internet protocol address.
 10. The system of claim 6, whereineach of the plurality of device servers comprises a multiprotocolserver.
 11. The system of claim 6, wherein each of the plurality ofdevice servers is dedicated to a single monitoring unit.
 12. The systemof claim 6, the terminal comprising at least one of a personal computer,a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant, and a wirelesscommunication device.
 13. The system of claim 6, further comprising: aprinter, the printer communicating with at least one of the terminal andthe computer network.
 14. A method for monitoring air pressure in atelecommunications network, comprising: accessing a computer networkhaving at least one device server; receiving a request from a terminalto select an air pressure monitoring unit, the selected air pressuremonitoring unit selected from a plurality of air pressure monitoringunits in the telecommunications network; querying the selected airpressure monitoring unit for the real time air pressure data; retrievingthe real time air pressure data from the selected air pressuremonitoring unit; and communicating the real time air pressure data fromthe selected air pressure monitoring unit over the computer network tothe terminal.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprisingcommunicating the real-time air pressure data from the selected airpressure monitoring unit to at least one other terminal.
 16. The methodof claim 14, further comprising communicating the real-time air pressuredata from at least two selected monitoring units to the terminal. 17.The method of claim 14, further comprising: printing the real time airpressure data to a printer.
 18. A storage medium on which is encodedinstructions for monitoring air pressure in a telecommunicationsnetwork, including instructions for performing the steps of: accessing acomputer network having at least one device server; receiving a requestfrom a terminal to select an air pressure monitoring unit, the airpressure monitoring unit selected from a plurality of air pressuremonitoring units in the telecommunications network; querying theselected air pressure monitoring unit for the real time air pressuredata; retrieving the real time air pressure data from the selected airpressure monitoring unit; and communicating the real time air pressuredata from the selected air pressure monitoring unit over the computernetwork to the terminal.
 19. The storage medium of claim 18, theinstructions further including instructions for performing the step ofcommunicating the real-time air pressure data from the selected airpressure monitoring unit to at least one other terminal.
 20. The storagemedium of claim 18, the instructions further including instructions forperforming the step of communicating the real-time air pressure datafrom at least two selected monitoring units to the terminal.